Clearbridge Investments LLC Takes $48.97 Million Position in Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Clearbridge Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 597,189 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,970,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned 0.54% of Viking Therapeutics as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV purchased a new position in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its stake in Viking Therapeutics by 370.7% in the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 353 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Viking Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. LifeSteps Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Viking Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at about $61,000. Institutional investors own 76.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Viking Therapeutics

In related news, COO Marianna Mancini sold 281,425 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.66, for a total value of $22,136,890.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 348,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,413,639.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Greg Zante sold 66,756 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.69, for a total value of $4,986,005.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 174,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,059,845.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Marianna Mancini sold 281,425 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.66, for a total value of $22,136,890.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 348,508 shares in the company, valued at $27,413,639.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VKTX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Viking Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $105.00 price target for the company. Maxim Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price target on shares of Viking Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Viking Therapeutics from $116.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Viking Therapeutics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $111.56.

Viking Therapeutics Trading Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ VKTX traded down $0.17 on Tuesday, hitting $51.54. 2,100,478 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,715,071. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $56.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.68 billion, a PE ratio of -55.42 and a beta of 1.03. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $8.28 and a 1-year high of $99.41.

Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.27) by $0.01. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.25) EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Viking Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Viking Therapeutics Company Profile

Viking Therapeutics, Inc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development of novel therapies for metabolic and endocrine disorders. The company's lead drug candidate is VK2809, an orally available tissue and receptor-subtype selective agonist of the thyroid hormone receptor beta (TRß), which is in Phase IIb clinical trials to treat patients with biopsy-confirmed non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, as well as NAFLD.